computer science

Onfleet

Onfleet is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Onfleet rather than just read about it. In short: Onfleet is a San Francisco-based delivery software company, specializing in last mile delivery. Its customers include Sweetgreen, Kroger and Total Wine & More.

Key takeaways

Onfleet belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Onfleet to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Onfleet from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Onfleet is a San Francisco-based delivery software company, specializing in last mile delivery. Its customers include Sweetgreen, Kroger and Total Wine & More. A number of publications, including Inc. magazine and TechCrunch, have called the company "Uber for delivery". Software designed by the company allows a retailer to communicate with delivery drivers while providing services such as optimizing routes and allowing customers to track deliveries. The company provides software as a service for delivery businesses, charging a monthly fee for using their software. A small number of deliveries are free, and the company's largest clients perform over 100,000 deliveries a month. Onfleet also helps businesses outsource delivery couriers, using the platform as a collaboration tool. Onfleet has clients in over 50 countries. As of 2020, 75% of the company's business is done in North America.

History The company was founded in 2012 by group of Stanford University students: David Vetrano, Mikel Carmenes Cavia and Khaled Naim. In April 2015, they received $2 million of funding from a number of angel investors, including Stanford University's own business accelerator program StartX. The idea of the company evolved from Addy, a simple address resolution app created by Khaled Naim that was intended to simplify navigation in the cities of the Middle East, where, according to him, addresses "are either nonexistent or very difficult to communicate." The app allowed a short link to be passed to the addressee that opened a map showing the route to the destination, and notes about the route. In January 2014, the app was used in over 25 countries. In 2019, it was named 124th of "most successful companies" in a list compiled by Inc. magazine. The San Francisco Business Times named it 13th in its list of 100 fastest growing businesses of San Francisco. With the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, the company offered its platform for free to pandemic first responders, including those delivering lab samples, medicines and medical equipment. The company also started offering contact-less delivery. In the first weeks of April 2020, the number of deliveries increased 35% compared to the previous month, to over 100,000 deliveries per day. The profits have also grown due to legalization of cannabis in a number of US states; since the onset of the pandemic, the number of alcohol and cannabis related deliveries increased fourfold. The company received $14 million from the investors Aat the end of 2020, in Series A round of funding, and $23 million in Series B round of funding in June 2022.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Onfleet

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Onfleet claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Onfleet before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Onfleet ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Onfleet

In research: Onfleet appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Onfleet in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Onfleet is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2012 establishments in California, American companies established in 2012, Companies based in San Francisco, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Onfleet outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Onfleet in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Onfleet means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Onfleet out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Onfleet in simple terms?

Onfleet is a San Francisco-based delivery software company, specializing in last mile delivery. Its customers include Sweetgreen, Kroger and Total Wine & More.

Why does Onfleet matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Onfleet?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Onfleet.